Literary Terms- Analysis Practice August 21, 2012 Writing Section of Notebook

Allusion The following is the example from a text (like you’ll be doing for your IRP). “With a Herculean effort, Valjean lifted the cart off the man trapped underneath” (Hugo 45). NOTICE: The MLA correct citation formation for the quote.

Did you find it? What was the allusion in the sentence? Reminder: Allusions are references, or “shout outs” to other historical, cultural, literary events, eras, and moments.

Yes! “Herculean”

Herculean: Hercules was a hero in Greek mythology who was renowned for his strength and courage. He is best known for completing his 12 labors, which included killing or capturing legendary creatures, gaining various items, and diverting a river to clean out the stables of Augeas. A Herculean feat is one very hard to perform, especially one requiring great strength. Hercules

Practice: Ask yourself “How did this allusion help me to better understand the book?” Specifically, what does it mean for this character to be compared to Hercules? What new knowledge do you have now that you understand this allusion?

Analysis Example: The reference to Hercules, given during an opening scene of the revolution in the first chapter of Les Miserables, compares Valjean to the strongest man in Greek mythology. This means that Valjean is VERY strong, and knowing this, it is evident that Valjean might have to use his strength to overcome more obstacles, besides just “overturned carts”. This character description helps to develop one of the main characters of the novel, showing the reader that Valjean is perhaps a hero because he is able to do great things with his great strength. The comparison is more specific than just saying Valjean is strong, because Hercules is the STRONGEST, so therefore the description is more vivid, if not exaggerated to prove a point.

Literary Term 2: Epiphany Task: Read the passage in front of you and look carefully for a moment of epiphany Define: an awakening or realization Decide: What is the nature of the epiphany and what is its effect on the tone (attitude) of the passage?

Example: In this passage, our speaker makes a realization, or has an epiphany, when she is observing some caves. She has been looking for the answers to the human questions of why we exist, what our purpose is here on Earth. As she observes the darkness of the cave, most likely a metaphor for the unknown, she realizes that she can’t find the answers in nature, or even in religion, but must search for them within her own mind to come to a conclusion. The tone of this passage is exhausted and almost hopeless, as if this speaker has had enough and has wearied of her quest for answers in her old age.

Sentence Structures “She pointed out the interesting details of the scenery: Stone Mountain; the blue granite that in some places came up to both sides of the highway; the brilliant red clay banks slightly streaked with purple; and the various crops that made rows of green lace-work on the ground.” Loose sentence example

Sentence Structures Cont… “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” Periodic Sentence example

WHY? A loose sentence presents ideas in the order of the subject-verb-object, which is the typical English language structure. It makes your writing clear and focused on the PERSON and the ACTION, not necessarily on the rest of the information contained in the sentence A periodic sentence creates suspense by saving its essential phrase for the last part, building up to the climax of the most important information. This forces the focus on the details instead of the main idea as well as affects the tone.